Life after Facebook

Posted by Deidre Rienzo on Jun 07, 2012

Hi, I'm Deidre. In my posts, I talk about my voyage down the road of self-employment as a web copywriter, my achievements and roadblocks along the way, and what I’m learning as I go (with Marketing Mentor as my guide).

But the urge hasn’t gone away … like quitting smoking, the Facebook-itine has lasting effects.

I’m still twitchy.

I can still feel its pull.

I know if I allowed myself, I’d spend hours catching up on the backlog of posts. But alas, I’m staying strong.

I remember the Facebook-days fondly, and I romanticize them in my mind.Remember the time somebody posted a picture of vomit? That wasn’t really so bad, was it?

The first few days were the hardest. I had a constant feeling like I was forgetting something. (What’s that about?) But now, my clickityness seems to be receding. My train of thought lasts longer, but sometimes I still nearly type “www.f…” into my browser. I have to remind myself this addictive outlet is no longer available.

Am I more productive? Undoubtedly.

What to watch for? Although it will lessen, the twitch will probably always be there. Distractions will always be available, and something in my head will always say, “Do something else for a minute!”

I can see how one would easily replace one twitch with another. Suddenly I’m much more interested in Yahoo headlines and celebrity gossip – but they are (slightly) less appealing, since they don’t talk about people I know. Knowing one addiction is easy to replace with another, I’ve been substituting better options. I’ve been replacing the twitch with running and tea-drinking. Both healthier options, I’m sure. I’ve run 7 times, and I’ve had bountiful cups of tea (mostly decaf).

My husband has kept me informed. I’ve seen 6 adorable pictures of friends’ babies. He shows me them on his phone, but I make him hold it for me. If I were to hold the phone myself, it would be the same as “borrowing” a cigarette and smoking it – rather than buying my own pack.

Perhaps once I get back to normal I can reintroduce Facebook gently into my life. Once a week? Or maybe my life will be better this way? Only time will tell.

One thing is for sure. Giving up Facebook has been eye-opening—and I’m really glad I tried it.